The “Crash” Essay
by Corwin Parks
We live out our days in certain ways that allows us to be oblivious to certain things. I guess that’s why when people say ignorance is a bliss they really mean it. But it is only bliss to those who are ignorant. Because of this racism is alive and well in America now-a-days. What’s ironic is that it’s not because of what you would normally think. We have people yelling out racism, discrimination, and prejudice and they are always pointing the finger at someone else. While they are too busy hollering and complaining they seem to lack the understanding that they are at fault for their own turmoil. They are the reasons that the stereotype is not a stereotype but rather a nonfictional inference.
In the movie “Crash”, racism is shown in various ways. One way that caught my eye was the racism proposed through the eyes of Anthony. His character seems to feel that he is the victim, and that every white person is out to get him because he is in fact black. He even said that the black waitress was prejudice to him. He is a strong young man; he seems quite intelligent but very contradicting. With his view of being racially victimized he doesn’t realize that he is one that contributes to the very same stereotype that he vigorously tries to put down.
In real life, this happens all of the time. We see that stereotypes are hurtful and they aren’t nice. But no one tries to get away from those stereotypes. They don’t try to be atypical and not of their somewhat stereotypical way. There is a scene that best proves this. Anthony says, “That waitress sized us up in two seconds. We’re black and black people don’t tip. So she wasn’t gonna waste her time. Now somebody like that? Nothing you can do to change their mind.” Then Peter responds, “So, uh… how much did you leave?” Anthony finishes with, “You expect me to pay for that kind of service?”
Clearly Anthony is a hypocrite. He argues that if a person looks at another person and automatically comes to a conclusion about that person, then there is nothing you can do to change their mind. But he doesn’t see that he is one of those people. Then he gives into this stereotype by not tipping the waitress after he complains about how he was viewed as someone who doesn’t tip.
This seems to happening a lot now. I’ve lived in very diverse places and not so very diverse places. From this, what I have come to realize is that, some of the most racist prejudice people out there would have to be the majority of black people. You would tend to think otherwise because of history and what has happened in the past but that is clearly not the case. Most of the black people in well diverse areas seem to feel that they are victims and that the “white man” is trying to keep them down. But what they don’t seem to want to realize is that is not the case. They find it easier to be lazy and put all their effort in blaming their misfortune on racism and slavery and oppression.
Right now I live in Athol, Massachusetts. From seventh grade until I graduated, I was either the only or one of maybe three or four black people in the entire school. There I was a pretty popular kid. Never once was I discriminated against. Never once did I ever feel like I was being left out because of what I looked like rather than my capabilities. I had the same opportunities as everyone else at that school. So please tell me why black people seem to feel the way that they do about white people.
There is another part in the movie that I would like to talk about. When Anthony says, “Look around! You couldn’t find a whiter, safer or better lit part of this city. But this white woman sees two black guys, who look like UCLA students, strolling down the sidewalk and her reaction is blind fear. I mean, look at us! Are we dressed like gang-bangers? Huh? No. Do we look threatening? No. Fact, if anybody should be scared around here, it’s us: We’re the only two black faces surrounded by a sea of over-caffeinated white people, patrolled by the trigger-happy LAPD. So you tell me, why aren’t we scared?” Then Peter proclaims, “Because we have guns?” Anthony responds with, “You could be right.” Then Anthony proceeds to jack Jean and Rick’s Escalade. Here is a stereotype within itself that I would like to poke fun at and point out. Anthony is a black male, he has a gun, and he is about to steel and Escalade. Talk about stereotypical. To make it worse he is doing it on Ventura Blvd. One thing he does have right is that it is one of the safer and better well lit areas in the city. So based on his actions can you blame her for her reaction of blind fear? I’m sure that, that would be considered her showing some of her street smarts.
Don’t get me wrong here I’m not out to bash black people, seeing how I am black. The point I’m trying to make is before we criticize others we need to make sure we don’t have our foot in our mouth because we are doing the very thing that we are criticizing about. There are a bunch of blacks out there who are atypical. They aren’t thugs; they don’t speak with slang and bad vocabulary. They aren’t always violent and loud and belligerent. They are not oblivious and ignorant to the fact that they are not contributing to a stereotype. Those some of us need to show that that’s how black people really are. The rappers, athletes, and public figures that constantly get in trouble, and are constant in the news for some type of misconduct, are not the role models that young black kids should be aspiring to. People like Condoleeza Rice, Martin Luther King, Michael Steel, Dwane Wade, Troy Brown, Kevin Garnet, Big Papi, and Paul Pierce among others, are those types of people who work hard for their success. They are respectable people, and they are the ones who should be looked at as role models.
“Crash” has not changed my outlook on life; it only better proves my philosophy to be true. I am not ignorant, and what I get is a bliss that others who are ignorant can never attain. I get the gratification that I did something and became successful because I had worked for it, rather than looking for hand outs and feeling victimized for something that has happened ages ago. People need to have enough sense to think before they react, to look at their own self before they criticize others. What’s scary is that those who yell racism, discrimination, and prejudice, aren’t ignorant because they are unaware, but because they refuse to be aware of the fact that they are the one who perpetuate the very racism of which they complain.
October 26th, 2009 at 11:06 am
Excellent points made in the essay.
October 26th, 2009 at 11:12 am
Well stated.
The black community’s biggest problem is that it fails to take responsibility for it’s actions.
Unlike other minority races in this country, the black community has a plethora of historical injustices at its disposal; ready to be used dually as a weapon against those it considers the enemies of its interests, and a shield against its poor stewardship as heirs to the promise of a better future left by those who paid for it in blood and life itself.
Until there’s a realization that the wounds we have are self inflicted, we’ll continue to be a community in decline.
October 26th, 2009 at 11:32 am
Hey! Role models such as Bob Parkes should be emulated as well!
Y’know – everyday people just doing a job the best they know how…
The kind of people that make America work. Non-Rock-Stars that actually Get ‘er Done.
The Rest of America, know what I mean?
Igor
October 26th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
Bravo Cory, Bravo!
I’ll never understand why young blacks and whites choose to emulate convicts and gang bangers(hats on sideways, baggy pants pulled down, flashing finger signs etc) Why not emulate Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan?
October 26th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
Bob, be proud – the acorn doesn’t fall very far from the tree, does it…
Igor
October 26th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
This is my first post on here just to say, That was an awesome article.
October 26th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
“I am not ignorant, and what I get is a bliss that others who are ignorant can never attain.”
Cory, wonderful essay. And that particular bliss will hold you throughout your life.
October 26th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
BULL’s EYE Cory!! VERY excellent! would LOVE read more of your opinions. Good stuff!
how exactly did “crash” win the oscar again (didn’t it, unfortunately?)
also, this describes liberals to a “T”..
“What’s scary is that those who yell racism, discrimination, and prejudice, aren’t ignorant because they are unaware, but because they refuse to be aware of the fact that they are the one who perpetuate the very racism of which they complain.”
they do INDEED REFUSE to acknowledge the truth, kind of like a spoiled brat sticking their fingers in their ears screaming “NAH NAH NAH NAH CAN’T HEAR YOU!!! NAH NAH NAH NAH!!”
it’s a pathetic reality and as Mason Weaver said “…they [DemoKKKrats] have us divided by our differences..”.
I do think with fresh faced, young guys like you and I (no offense Bob), we certainly can get the message across to our college age group hopefully easier, if at all possible
lastly, even though I’m a few years older than ya, you sound like a really cool guy that I could hang out. It would be awesome to meet you and your dad someday
October 26th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
“Hey! Role models such as Bob Parks should be emulated as well!”
that’s right, pardon the pun, and these days, I think it’s fair to say Bob is one of MY biggest influences. I mentioned this before to him, when some moron at possibly the Washington Post said Bob was “strong black leader”..pfft….I think, regardless of ethnicity, Bob is a strong CONSERVATIVE leader (he could be any color under the sun and STILL be a kick to the left’s crotch), and I look to him for a great deal these days for a number reasons. He definitely reminds me of my late grandfather – a conservative man who stuck by his beliefs and convictions, putting his foot down with real force, yet having a great sense of humor and solid connection to family
October 26th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
typos be damned..I meant “even though I’m a few years older than ya, you sound like a really cool guy that I could hang out WITH”
hate when I leave crucial words out..
October 26th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
I’m very proud of you Cory and you know I think the world of your father. Keep up the great work.
With Utmost Respect ~ Semper Fi, Hank
October 26th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
You see bob, black people pretty much stab themselves in the foot, with their very own double edged sword. People like Anthony whine and complain about the ghetto and hard life is there……but do they try to change it or themselves? No, they become gangstas and perpetuate the cycle.
Do they try to educate themselves so they can pull themselves, their family and their neighborhood out of poverty? No. And infact someone who does try to do that, gets made fun of for trying to “act white” or called a sellout or uncle tom.
It reminds me of GTA San Andreas. The main character is called “CJ” and hes pissed about some gang violence that got his mother or grandmother or someone whom he loved killed. So what does he do? Move away? End the cycle? No. He goes on a rampage of murder, theft and property damage. Killing people that did no wrong to him and stealing innocent peoples property.
Now, I understand that this was just a game, and infact there wouldn’t have been a game if the story went the other way. But it exemplifies the attitude. Someone wrongs you, thats unacceptable. Wrong other people…meh, thats life in the ghetto.
October 26th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
Brilliant message, that must be repeated!
Judge people by their words and actions. The prejudice people perpetuate is a fear of the unknown, and a resentment based on a variety of factors, including: ethnic heritage, economic class, societal class, intelligence, etc. It would be naive to believe that prejudice is solely based on ethnicity.
I, for one, fear and resent those who accept that life is not fundamental, that individual humans lack an inherent dignity, that people should submit to involuntary exploitation, and that they should bow to presumed superior human beings. The latter continues to be contradicted by facts on the ground.
People need to take responsibility for their lives and strive to be productive members of the society in which they live. The goal is to establish a civilization that is sustainable and respects the individual’s unalienable rights endowed by their Creator.
Once again, Bob, your son honors you. Yup, wisdom that transcends the ages, “Honor thy father and mother”.
October 26th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
Cory –
Excellent work. I look forward to more articles from you in the future.
October 26th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
I actually liked the movie “Crash” because to me, it seemed to point out the very same things this article does, as in the instances with Anthony, I got a sense that the writers and actors were trying to say the same thing, but in a tongue-in-cheek type of way. I viewed the whole movie as more of a “these people are the problem, not the solution, don’t be like them” type of thing. It has actually spawned a series of the same name on Starz starring Dennis Hopper which is now in it’s second season. It doesn’t quite play to the same racial notes as the movie, but is pretty decent nonetheless.
I bet Ludacris would have fought to get away from that pic if only he’d known the philosophies of whom he was standing by.
October 26th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
also, I have to say this – Cory’s photo with ludacris reminds me of the left-right dynamic
Luda has a pessimistic expression that says “ya..whateva..sucka”
Cory has a an optimistic expression that that says “Hey, how are ya? how’s it going? cool”
I swear, the left are such downers…
October 26th, 2009 at 8:39 pm
You’ve got a hit.
Small bit of editing for grammar things here and there and you’ve got one suitable for the WORLD, Cory.
October 27th, 2009 at 8:28 am
Excellent Cory!
As an aside re waitresses: having owned a restaurant for years I can tell you that wait staff are excellent profilers and it is not an ethnicity thing. They will tell you that cheap skates are old people (they’ll even fill their pockets with the sugar and creamers), rich people (that’s how they got rich), Canadians (caught one of our staff with a pin that said “Tip” is a verb), and Euro’s (who pretend that they thought it was included like back home…even though they have lived in the US for decades). And yes, these are stereotypes…but with some foundation.